The Voices Heard Before Suicide
August 30, 2019 at 3:37 pm 2 comments
Suicide is a profound tragedy…
My daughter was a young girl when my brother committed suicide. I was devastated. He had been suffering with a chronic illness and told us he was praying to die, while we prayed for him to live.
He had talked about dying years before that because he was so unhappy. Suicide is seldom unplanned, and victims leave clues.
It is up to us to pay attention to those clues and intervene. That’s easy to say, and harder to do. There are lots of external influences that will make it challenging to notice the clues.
These days children are dealing with life issues that they don’t want to talk about. Bullying. Sexual abuse. Peer pressure. Parental expectations. Excelling in school. These issues are further exacerbated by the separatism that technology provides. Many of these issues young people face without appropriate coping skills. When an unpleasant event occurs they feel that life can’t go on and so they attempt suicide or they are successful. 🤯
I recently heard the story of a good kid who received detention at school and then was reprimanded by his s parents at home. Concerned that he had jeopardized his chances to get into a Ivy League school for college; he committed suicide. Did he leave any clues that he was fragile?
What about the girl who can no longer face school or online bullies and decides that suicide is a better alternative to living. What behaviors did her parents notice before she took her life?
How do we stop this madness?
Suicide is beyond devastating! It’s really bad when it happens to a child that you think is safe; has a good life; and looks normal.
Are there warning signs? They’re probably aren’t many if any unless you are watching intently and you are in tune with your child; even then there’s no guarantee that you will be aware of what’s going on.
Here is what I can tell you:
• Watch for changes of behavior
• Mood swings
• Quiet and withdrawn in an otherwise outgoing joyous kid
There’s no guarantee that you’ll catch the clues then, but it least if you start a conversation beyond ‘how was your day’; if you talk about how to build resilience; if you let your child know that there is nothing worth taking their life over…
Have those hard conversations now when everything is good. Let your child know that correcting their behavior is your job, but that you are always proud of them and love them.
Interested in learning more about your family’s dynamics? Contact me – Ms. Parent Guru to receive information about my inspiring parenting programs for Aging Parents, Mothers and Daughters, Mothers and their Sons, Fathers and Daughters or Fathers and their Sons.
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C. Lynn Williams, #MsParentguru
Family Dynamics Strategist, Author & Speaker
Entry filed under: #MsParentguru, #StaySane, adolescent depression, bullying, children, committed suicide, daughter, parent expectations, Parenting, parenting, preteen, sadness, suicide.
Staying Sane While Raising Your Teens 
1.
Velvetta | September 4, 2019 at 9:59 pm
What a profound topic for back to school. If parents pay attention to their children, regardless of age, we can save a life. When my youngest was 22 he lost a friend every week for a year. He brought home the obituaries and posted them on his wall. All I knew was that he had such a depressive state about him just being near him caused me to become depressed. One day while in his room I noticed the obituaries and tore them down. I explained to him that it is okay to remember but not to dwell.
2.
C. Lynn Williams | September 4, 2019 at 10:11 pm
How insightful to break your son’s focus on the loss of his friends through the obits. ❤️